Public Statements

Roskam Statement on September Unemployment Numbers

Statement

Congressman Peter Roskam (R-IL), a member of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee and a leading architect of the GOP "Pledge to America', issued the following statement on new unemployment data for the month of September:

"For fourteen straight months, national unemployment has remained above 9.5. This is a place the Administration told us our economy would never see if only the stimulus was passed. One trillion dollars in spending later, millions of Americans are struggling with unemployment, while businesses and investors sit on the sidelines rather than putting their capital to work to get the economy back on its feet.

Even though families in Illinois and across the country are struggling, the President and Democrat Leaders in Congress continue to insist on a job-killing tax hike that will rob more money from individuals and small businesses and give it to the government to squander.

House Republicans' "Pledge to America' offers the American people a different way forward. Businesses thrive on certainty, and the best way to unfreeze long-stalled investments that will grow the economy and create jobs is to announce good news that can be counted on for the future. By extending current tax rates across-the-board, we will ensure no one sees their taxes go up in the middle of a recession so that America's job creators can focus their energy and resources where it's needed most: on the innovation, investment and growth that mean higher wages for current workers and the creation of new jobs.

With 94% of small businesses paying taxes at the individual rates, making current tax rates permanent is a critical first step to creating a climate for robust economic growth and quality job creation.

Background

* Today the Labor Department announced that the American economy lost 95,000 jobs in September. * The number of Americans stuck in part-time positions despite seeking full-time employment jumped 612,000 in the last month, to more than 9.5 million workers. * Over 6 million Americans have been searching for work for longer than 27 weeks.